Pippen Carries Portland by Utah

Late in the fourth quarter, 6-foot-7 Scottie Pippen looked down at 6-1 John Stockton and yelled to Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy: “You’ve got to get me the ball.”

The Trail Blazers did just that, feeding the ball to Pippen four consecutive times as he scored eight straight points in the final 2:12 to lead Portland to a 101-99 victory Thursday night over the Utah Jazz at Salt Lake City.

“I took advantage of Stockton in the post a little bit,” said Pippen, who scored 25 points.

Pippen rallied the Trail Blazers from a 97-91 deficit but needed help to seal the victory. With the score tied at 99, Pippen lost the ball as he dribbled across the lane, but Dale Davis picked it up and was fouled by Bryon Russell with 1.9 seconds to play. Davis, a 63% free-throw shooter, made both.

Bonzi Wells scored 22 and Rasheed Wallace added 21 for Portland, which shot 59% in winning for the third time in four games after losing five in a row.

The Trail Blazers ended Utah’s home winning streak at seven and knocked the Jazz two games behind San Antonio in the Midwest Division.

Danny Manning led Utah with 25 points.

Boston 113, New Jersey 98--Net forward Kenyon Martin, the No. 1 pick in last year’s NBA draft, fractured his right leg in a loss to the Celtics at East Rutherford, N.J.

Martin was injured when Boston guard Milt Palacio collided with the back of his leg in the third quarter. The leg is the same one Martin broke around this time last year while playing for the University of Cincinnati.

Paul Pierce scored a career-high 44 points to help the Celtics move within a half-game of the idle Indiana Pacers in the race for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

Sacramento 103, Detroit 98--Chris Webber had 29 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists at Sacramento to help the Kings move 1 1/2 games ahead of the idle Lakers in the Pacific Division.

San Antonio 115, Atlanta 101--Derek Anderson scored 23 points in Atlanta as the Spurs moved a half-game ahead of Philadelphia for the NBA’s best record.

Phoenix 91, Seattle 88--Jason Kidd scored 20 points, including two three-point shots in the fourth quarter, to help the Suns overcome a 12-point halftime deficit at Seattle.

Cleveland 109, Vancouver 95--Wesley Person and Lamond Murray scored 19 points apiece to lead the Cavaliers at Cleveland in a game featuring the fourth-quarter ejections of Bimbo Coles and the Grizzlies’ Mike Bibby after a scuffle.

Around the League

Forward Michael Smith, who unleashed a profane outburst on the bench after being taken out of Wednesday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors, was sent home from the Washington Wizards’ Western trip. The Wizards, who visit the Lakers tonight, did not say whether Smith was suspended. . . . Yao Ming, a 20-year-old, 7-foot-5 center for the Shanghai Sharks, told Xinhua News Agency that he expected to be released from his Chinese club in order to become available for the NBA draft, where he could be the No. 1 overall pick. . . . The Denver Nuggets activated swingman Calbert Cheaney (strained calf) off the injured list and waived forward Mark Strickland.